Automobile top curtain



S. A. GATES. AUTOM APPLlcAT A nv.

oBlLE 10P @um ION FILED JAN. 31

'1m Patented Apr. 25, 1922,

SYLVESTER A. GATES, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

AUTOMOBILE TOP CURTAIN.

Application filed January 31, 1920. Serial No. 355,313.

To all wzm it may con-cern.'

Be it known that l, SYLvns'rEu A. GATES, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Autolmobile Top Curtains, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to automobile side curtains that may be advantageously used in connection with a collapsible or foldable automobile top to cooperate therewith, when the top is raised or in an active position, in providing an enclosure for the occupants of the automobile, and the present invention includes numerous improvements by which the side curtains are rendered more practical, easy to handle and install and cheaper to produce.

One of the main improvements is in connection with the front, .intermediate and back rails, which are now made telescopic and foldable, so that the side curtains will occu y a comparatively small space when knoc (ed down besides facilitating install- Anient of the side curtains in an automobile.

This improvement, as well as others, will hereinafter appear and reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an automobile top, showing the inner side of a side equipment for the top;

Fig. 2 is a plan of one of the side-curtains showing the top in horizontal section;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on theline III- IH of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a similar View taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1; .f

Fig. 6 is a similar view taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of theA front adjustable brackets of a side curtain; Fig. 8 is a similar view showing one of the rear brackets of the side curtains;

F ig..9 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line IX-IX lof Fig. 5;

Fig. 10 is a similar view taken on the line X-X of Fig. 4, and

Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross sectional lview' of a .modied form of curtain roller housing.

vThe side curtains, as now constructed, include a metallic housing 1' of sufficient I Specification (if Letters Patent. Patented pl. 25, 1922.

conveniently-gwcund on the curtain shade the flange 9 of the housing 1 and connected length to extend from a rear vertical automobile bow 2 to a front Outrigger bow 3 which is ordinarily supported byza front vertical bow 4 which cooperates with thc bow 2 and a rearwardly inclined bow- 5 in supporting the usual canopy top 6 for an automobile body 7.

4'llhe metallic housing 1 is substantially semi-cylindrical and when made of metal it is provided with a front depending longitudinal flange 8 and a rear depending flange 9, these flanges being disposed in vertical parallel planes with the flange 9 in a .plane above the flange 8 and both flanges cooperating in providing a longitudinal bottom slotA 10 throughout the length of the housing'l. Suitably connected to the' ends of the housing 1 are caps 11 and 12, best shown in Figs. 7 and v8, the can 11 having an aperture 13 for the pintle 14 at one end of a curtainshade roller 15, and the cap l2 has a slot and pivotedl keeper 16 for the usual winding pintle 17 at the opposite end ofthe cur tain shade roller 15. The curtain shade roller extends throughout the length of r the housing 1 and is constructed similar to an ordinary curtain shade roller that is, it has a rollable vchrtain 18 which may be roller l15 through the medium of a spring 19, within the curtain shade roller. The curtain 18 is necessarily of' considerable length and is provided with lights or trans.- parent panels 20.with the body of the curtain suitably reinforced so as to possess a desired degree of rigidity to prevent buckling and withstand wind pressure.

AThe housingv 1 is supported by the bows 2 and 3 substantially in parallelism with the side walls of the canopy top and the supporting means for each housing, at each side of the automobile top, includes. a rear angiilarly disposed bracket 21,"carried by to the bow 2 by screws or other fasteningy means. The front endv of the housing 1 is supported by an angle bracket 22 screwed or otherwise connected to the Outrigger bow 3, said bracket extending rearwardlyinto a7105 channel guide 23 carried by the flange 9 of the housing 1. The housing has a slidingl engagement with the bracket 22 and it is through the medium of this ladjustable. bracket that the housing can .be mounted in automobile tops even though there ma be some irregularities inl the longitudinaly ditically ward y y.space between the canopy top .cooperates with the curtain vin parallelism with the particularly between the rear vertical bow bow. ,y

Riveted or otherwise connected to the flange 9 of the housing 1 is a semi-rigid verdisposed flap 2li` which extends upand engages the canopy top 6, said flap extending throughout the length of the housing and snugly engaging the bows 2 and 4:, so as to form a shield which will close the '6 and the housing 1 and exclude air and the elements. This sealing flap is essential and constantly side of the automobile top.

Pivotally connected tov the flange '8 of the housing, as at 25, are front, intermediate and rear rails that may be swung substantially@ side curtains are removed or not in use, and all of `these rails lare somewhat similar in construction, particularly the front and rear rails which are identical. Each front or rear rail comprises an inner channel member 26 and an outer channel member 27, said outer channel member .having inturned flanges 28 providingguideways to receive the side flanges of the inner channel member 26,l so that the outer channel member will telescope the inner channel member an these members may be'shifted relative to each otherv to increase and decrease the longitudinal dimensions of the rails. With the upper end of the outer channel member 27 pivotally connected to the housing flange 8 by one of the side fianges of said 'outer channel member, the other side flange maybe bent outwardly, as at 29, so that the vertical edges of the curtain 18.may readily enter the guide grooves andouter channelmembers of the'rails.

The lower ends of the inner channel mem- 4 bers 26 of the front and rear rails are adapted .to be fastened, ofthe automobile body 7, as best shown in FigsflA and 6, and with the front and rear rails so fixed that the guide grooves 3() of said rails confront eachother and lreceive the vertical edges yof the curtain 18. With the `curtain 18 raised and the lower ends of Y' .the rails released the front and rear rails may be swung upwardly so that the fiange 8 of thev housing 1 will extend into the grooves 30and permit of the front and rear rails being closely' assembled relative to the curtain shade roller housing 1.

The intermediate rail is composed of two telescopic members 32 providing a guideway 33 therebetween for the middle portion of the curtain 18, and each of the members 32 maybe made of telescopic channel sections slidable one within the other with the lowermost sectionsfconn'ected to the inner wall of the automobile body 7 similar to the front- 18 in closing the flange 8, when the 30 formed by the inner as at 31, to the inner walls and rear rails'. `With` the upper ends of the members 32 pivotedr on the vouter walls of the flanges 8 and 9, as shown in lFig. 5, the

guideway 33 will readily receive the curtain 18 and thus cooperate with the guide grooves 3() of the front and rear rails in preventing lateral displacement of the curtain-18. Furthermore,` with the upper ends of the memi bersY 32 pivotally connected to the outer walls of the housing fianges it is possible to swing .said members upwardly into parallelism with s'aid flanges when the lower ends of said members are released relative to -the automobile body.

As shown in Fig. 11, be proportioned relative to the'curtain shade roller 15 so that when the curtain 18 is loweredit will 'contact withthe flange 8 of said housing and seal one end of the space 'be'. tween the unwound curtain shade roller and said housing. It is now apparent that should the elements enter the housing .between the curtain shade roller and the flange 9, that the elements cannot pass downwardly into the body of t-he car since the4 curtain closes the housing relative to the car body.

To permit of the rear side curtains 34 being employed, the rear rails may be provided with' fasteners 35 of a conventional form. l It is'also possible to provide the' front rails with similar fastening means should it be desired to use flaps between the front rails and the windshields ofthe auto'- mobile body, and in some instances it may 24 to the housing 1 instead of permanently rfastening the same. It is to be understood that my invention includes these changes and such others as fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

1. A side curtain construction for an auto.- mobile top, comprising a housing adapted .be desirable to detachably connect the flap to extend longitudinally of thetop and have its ends detachably connected'. to the top bows so as to be bodily removed, flanges carf ried by said housing, a rollablecurtain -in said housing and extending from a rear bow Y to the forwardmost bow of the top, front and rear rails connected to one of -said houslng'flanges. and an intermediate rall' connected to both housing flanges said rails.

providing guides for said curtaln.

2. A side curtain constructionl as characterized in claim 1, wherein all of said rails are composed of telescopic sections and pivotally connected to the housing flanges tofold in the direction of said housing.

In testimony whereof I'affix my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

'Witnessesz l ANNA M. Donn, .H C. UNnEnwoon.

SYLVESTER A. GATES'. l 

